dawnrazor667 Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 7 minutes ago, neepheid said: Is it up on the site? I can't find it - got a link? Nope, I watched the video by the Spanish (?) guy and contacted support to ask for a release date and price point. Along the way, they let me preorder it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 @dawnrazor667... care to share the specs? - a pic of a spec list if easy. They do look so good... how thick? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawnrazor667 Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 (edited) 24 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said: @dawnrazor667... care to share the specs? - a pic of a spec list if easy. They do look so good... how thick? This is what I got: 1x Harley Benton HB-50 Cherry Red Verfügbarkeit: In 11–14 Wochen lieferbar (so it might take a bit longer than I posted) Harley Benton HB-50 Cherry Red Vintage Series; Semi-Hollow Body E-Bass; Set-Neck Konstruktion; Ahornkorpus mit gewölbter Decke; C-Shape Hals aus kanadischem Ahorn; Lorbeer Griffbrett mit DOT Inlays & Sidemarks; 22 Neusilber 2,7mm Bünde; 864mm Mensur; 43mm Sattelbreite; ABS Nut; Creme Body & Neck Bindings; Double Action Truss; Artec MMC4 Vintage Alnico 5 Humbucker Pickup; Controls: 1-Volume, 1-Tone & 3-Wege Schalter; DLX Chrome Hardware; BK5 Steg; DLX Die-Cast Tuner, HB 45-105 Saiten, Farbe: Hi-Gloss Cherry Red; Optional Passender Koffer: 263559. In German, so Google Translate might be your friend... Edited October 18, 2023 by dawnrazor667 added sth 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 1x Harley Benton HB-50 Cherry Red Availability: Available in 11-14 weeks (so it might take a bit longer than I posted) Harley Benton HB-50 Cherry Red Vintage Series; Semi-Hollow Body Electric Bass; Set-neck construction; Maple body with arched top; C-shape neck made of Canadian maple; Laurel fingerboard with DOT inlays & sidemarks; 22 nickel silver 2.7mm frets; 864mm scale length; 43mm saddle width; ABS groove; Cream Body & Neck Bindings; Double Action Truss; Artec MMC4 Vintage Alnico 5 Humbucker Pickup; Controls: 1-Volume, 1-Tone & 3-Way Switch; DLX Chrome Hardware; BK5 bridge; DLX Die-Cast Tuner, HB 45-105 strings, color: Hi-Gloss Cherry Red; Optional matching case: 263559. 11-14 weeks would take us into January which wouldn't be bad as it's the quiet time for the band and gives me time to do some fettling 🤔 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 (edited) No Black... and the red is a little to... for me, nice though. That Honey does look sweet... Just noticed the rounded fretboard ends... the little things... Edited October 19, 2023 by PaulThePlug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Dragon Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Like that there is a matching case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 Since I own a hb-60 and being pretty happy with the overall quality of it (though I can confirm the real bad pots) and preferring short scale on semi hollow basses, I´m curious on a first review of this long scale one especially with that pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted October 21, 2023 Author Share Posted October 21, 2023 45 minutes ago, smithy said: Since I own a hb-60 and being pretty happy with the overall quality of it (though I can confirm the real bad pots) and preferring short scale on semi hollow basses, I´m curious on a first review of this long scale one especially with that pickup. It arrived at an inconveniently quiet time - I've got no gigs scheduled until November, but will likely have some rehearsals next week so I'll give my "war volume" thoughts on it soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 6, 2023 Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 Well, the final finishing touch arrived today - the poker chip/ring for the rotary switch. The guy did an amazing job, exactly what I wanted. That's me done, I dunno if Harley Benton will listen to me at all regarding the feedback about the useless pots and the pointless three way switch as supplied on the prototype, but I'm happy with this now - it's how I believe it should be. Most entertaining bit of beta testing/prototyping I've done in a long time! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebassmusic Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 (edited) Well Matt brought the bass round to mine last night and I had a go on it. Due to the shape / semi hollow / single pickup I expected it to have a quite warm maybe wooly soft edged sound to it. How wrong I was 🤦♂️ Its passive but the way Matts wired it up gives a great range of tones from the deep dubby through mid focused onto a nice top end. I wasnt originally expecting it to be a slappable bass but the clarity and set up would easily allow it. (I did refrain from actually slapping it though 😅 ) Great bass Matt and those changes you made make it very useful and flexible 👍 Edited November 7, 2023 by Acebassmusic 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 7, 2023 Author Share Posted November 7, 2023 15 minutes ago, Acebassmusic said: Well Matt brought the bass round to mine last night and I had a go on it. Due to the shape / semi hollow / single pickup I expected it to have a quite warm maybe wooly soft edged sound to it. How wrong I was 🤦♂️ Its passive but the way Matts wired it up gives a great range of tones from the deep dubby through mid focused onto a nice top end. I wasnt originally expecting it to be a slappable bass but the clarity and set up would easily allow it. (I did refrain from actually slapping it though 😅 ) Great bass Matt and those changes you made make it very useful and flexible 👍 Thanks Mike, glad you had some fun with it - almost as entertaining as me consistently missing the D string on the 5 string Overwater you gave me a shot of! I doubt Thomann will pay any attention to me but I will feed back what I've done and who knows, perhaps there's still time to change the electronics before they start producing them for launch. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy Posted November 11, 2023 Share Posted November 11, 2023 On 21/10/2023 at 13:17, smithy said: I´m curious on a first review of this long scale one especially with that pickup. And curiosity is growing more and more and more.....🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 On 11/11/2023 at 07:32, smithy said: And curiosity is growing more and more and more.....🙂 I apologise, had a week off, and the week before I had to use a borrowed rig cos my amp died so I wanted the security blanket of a familiar bass. I will be taking the HB-50 out for its first live outing this weekend so I will report back soon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy Posted November 17, 2023 Share Posted November 17, 2023 Well, if it´s going to sound half as good as it looks ...🤩 On 07/11/2023 at 22:33, neepheid said: I doubt Thomann will pay any attention to me but I will feed back what I've done and who knows, perhaps there's still time to change the electronics before they start producing them for launch. I think, Harley Benton is always good for a nice surprise (or at least a voucher). You might do future buyers a favor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 Well @smithy, very sorry for the delay but I finally got the HB-50 out to a gig last night. It did not disappoint. Ironically, despite my tinkering and wiring, I used it in parallel mode - not a bad idea, because that's what you're going to get if they release it as per the prototype. Felt like series was a bit much last night, and I was worried about feedback if I gave it too much beans. Speaking of which, there was none, the centre block doing its job no problem last night despite standing in front of my amp about a metre behind me. Even though it has a centre block, this HB-50 is not overly heavy and it was comfy all night. No problem to throw a few shapes on stage with it. It was sounding really good last night, a decent heft to the sound but with plenty of mid bite to cut through the mix. Strong output, didn't need to drive the amp too hard to get a good, punchy sound. It's pretty responsive, when I dug into the strings for a big finish it gave me more oomph in a pleasing way. No issues ergonomically, no neck dive that I could discern, I forgot my wristband but the body binding isn't too sharp edged or harsh so this morning there are no red marks on my forearm (hey Epi Jack Casady, I'm looking at you...). If I had a complaint, I felt that the sound was a little weak on the D and G strings versus the E and A, but perhaps I can balance this out a bit by lowering the E side of the pickup a tad. Or grow the F up and start using a compressor... At a not particularly busy gig, I got three separate compliments about my bass sound last night - very unusual! OK, one guy was wasted, but the other two seemed reasonably coherent. Now I don't know how much they're complimenting the bass itself or the rig, but I'll take it! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 Nice to hear. As I said before, I own the HB-60 and for Harley Benton being known to improve from model to model, I´m sure your new bass is another upgrade in that semihollow range. Main difference beside pickup and scale is the bridge (HB-60 has a floating one)- yours does look pretty standalone. Does it work as nice as it looks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 17 minutes ago, smithy said: Nice to hear. As I said before, I own the HB-60 and for Harley Benton being known to improve from model to model, I´m sure your new bass is another upgrade in that semihollow range. Main difference beside pickup and scale is the bridge (HB-60 has a floating one)- yours does look pretty standalone. Does it work as nice as it looks? Couldn't tell you when it comes to adjustment - because it was an ex-show demonstrator, as you can imagine it arrived with a flawless setup with regards to intonation and action. I did have the strings off when I was doing my modding so I will say that I appreciated the quick release design of the tailpiece and not having to thread the strings through to remove them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 Well, it was just out of interest because adjusting intonation with a floating bridge is a real mess. Once I´m done, the only time for me to remove all strings at one time will be a fret dress (if needed one day). BTW the HB-60 works really well with TI Jazz Flats. Maybe It´s an option for the HB-50 as well ?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 27 minutes ago, smithy said: Well, it was just out of interest because adjusting intonation with a floating bridge is a real mess. Once I´m done, the only time for me to remove all strings at one time will be a fret dress (if needed one day). BTW the HB-60 works really well with TI Jazz Flats. Maybe It´s an option for the HB-50 as well ?! Well, here's the bridge in extreme closeup: Looks like intonation gets adjusted by the screws in the side of the unit, and it also has lockdown screws in the top so it's extra secure - seems a bit overengineered to be honest. Obviously no individual string height adjustment, only either side of the bridge can be raised/lowered. I don't like flats. Of course, each to their own, I'm sure for people who like flats, it'll work really well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 (edited) Thank you for that close up. As long as the curve in the bridge corresponds to the fretboard radius, I think, there´s no real need for individual height adjustability. Looks fine to me - very unique and sturdy. Edited November 23, 2023 by smithy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 On 18/10/2023 at 23:33, dawnrazor667 said: This is what I got: 1x Harley Benton HB-50 Cherry Red Verfügbarkeit: In 11–14 Wochen lieferbar (so it might take a bit longer than I posted) Harley Benton HB-50 Cherry Red Vintage Series; Semi-Hollow Body E-Bass; Set-Neck Konstruktion; Ahornkorpus mit gewölbter Decke; C-Shape Hals aus kanadischem Ahorn; Lorbeer Griffbrett mit DOT Inlays & Sidemarks; 22 Neusilber 2,7mm Bünde; 864mm Mensur; 43mm Sattelbreite; ABS Nut; Creme Body & Neck Bindings; Double Action Truss; Artec MMC4 Vintage Alnico 5 Humbucker Pickup; Controls: 1-Volume, 1-Tone & 3-Wege Schalter; DLX Chrome Hardware; BK5 Steg; DLX Die-Cast Tuner, HB 45-105 Saiten, Farbe: Hi-Gloss Cherry Red; Optional Passender Koffer: 263559. In German, so Google Translate might be your friend... ... 23ish weeks later... Did it ever arrive? Still no sign of it on the Thomann website. Just wondering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithy Posted June 12 Share Posted June 12 Now- Seems you didn't just get a prototype but an ever being one of a kind bass. Great for you, a pity for the rest of us!? Harley Benton - what are you waiting for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 12 Author Share Posted June 12 2 minutes ago, smithy said: Now- Seems you didn't just get a prototype but an ever being one of a kind bass. Great for you, a pity for the rest of us!? Harley Benton - what are you waiting for? I wonder where the red one went... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawnrazor667 Posted September 19 Share Posted September 19 Both colours in the shop now: https://www.thomann.de/de/harley_benton_hb_50_cherry_red.htm Mine should arrive on Monday... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 19 Author Share Posted September 19 46 minutes ago, dawnrazor667 said: Both colours in the shop now: https://www.thomann.de/de/harley_benton_hb_50_cherry_red.htm Mine should arrive on Monday... Wow, and I thought the gestation period of my Sire Z7 was protracted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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